rEd86
Premium Member
OK, I guess it's time to start a build thread about my home tank I am starting. I had a 110 gallon tank at home and recently finish my basement to move the TV and kids stuff into so that cleared out some room for a larger tank. Since we don't use the living room for anything else, I wanted something larger that would be the center piece of that space.
I have been soliciting stand shots to get an idea on how I want to finish my stand, which I will be building on my own out of wood. I wanted to keep the design simple and allow lots of access space to get under the stand since I will be housing all of my equipment under it. (sump/refugium, calcium reactor, skimmer, etc.)
I did some mock-ups with Google Sketchup although they were not as polished as some have done since I have only been using the tool for a couple of days. It did give me a good idea of the frame dimensions and how I would cut the wood.
Keep in mind that this is just the frame and doesn't include any trimming or doors - I couldn't figure out how to represent that in SketchUp so I will go on the finish that's in my head
The center brace is not really required (not load-bearing) but I needed it to mount the doors to. There will be two doors in each opening with a single door on each end.
I chose to go with LVL (laminated veneer lumber) in order to reduce the bulkiness of the stand and give me a larger opening to access underneath. I have a custom stand on my 265g at the office and they glued two 3/4" panels together and I was going to go that route but I found a lumber supply place that had 6ft scrap lengths of LVL and it was cheaper. I will get a stronger piece of lumber plus I don't have to worry about gluing up the 3/4" plywood and ripping sheets down to proper dimensions.
Originally I was going to veneer the LVL but after picking it up today, I think it will be too time consuming to prepare the face so it has a smooth finish for gluing, so I am going to skin the frame with 1/4" oak plywood instead.
I plan on ripping the LVL down to dimensions tomorrow and cutting the loose tenons joints. I hope to post some pictures of that in the next few days.
--Ed
I have been soliciting stand shots to get an idea on how I want to finish my stand, which I will be building on my own out of wood. I wanted to keep the design simple and allow lots of access space to get under the stand since I will be housing all of my equipment under it. (sump/refugium, calcium reactor, skimmer, etc.)
I did some mock-ups with Google Sketchup although they were not as polished as some have done since I have only been using the tool for a couple of days. It did give me a good idea of the frame dimensions and how I would cut the wood.
Keep in mind that this is just the frame and doesn't include any trimming or doors - I couldn't figure out how to represent that in SketchUp so I will go on the finish that's in my head
The center brace is not really required (not load-bearing) but I needed it to mount the doors to. There will be two doors in each opening with a single door on each end.
I chose to go with LVL (laminated veneer lumber) in order to reduce the bulkiness of the stand and give me a larger opening to access underneath. I have a custom stand on my 265g at the office and they glued two 3/4" panels together and I was going to go that route but I found a lumber supply place that had 6ft scrap lengths of LVL and it was cheaper. I will get a stronger piece of lumber plus I don't have to worry about gluing up the 3/4" plywood and ripping sheets down to proper dimensions.
Originally I was going to veneer the LVL but after picking it up today, I think it will be too time consuming to prepare the face so it has a smooth finish for gluing, so I am going to skin the frame with 1/4" oak plywood instead.
I plan on ripping the LVL down to dimensions tomorrow and cutting the loose tenons joints. I hope to post some pictures of that in the next few days.
--Ed
